Doctor Who Watch-along: New Earth / Gridlock at 7 PM UK time today
By James Aggas
It’s a Doctor Who double-bill for today’s latest watchalong, beginning with New Earth at 7 PM before continuing with Gridlock at 8 PM!
Following Tuesday’s global rewatch of Matt Smith episode The Rings of Akhaten, today brings us not one but two Doctor Who stories to watch. These episodes don’t form a two-parter, but they are heavily linked.
First, we have New Earth, scheduled to start at 7 PM UK time. This is a pretty major episode, particularly for David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor. For one thing, it was his first full episode after The Christmas Invasion, the Christmas special that helped to establish his Doctor. So this is extremely early days for Ten, particularly in his relationship with Rose. As the first episode of Series 2, it makes sense that they would go “further than they’ve ever gone before”.
The episode is also a continuation of Ninth Doctor story The End of the World. That earlier episode not only featured the destruction of Earth, but also introduced both the Face of Boe and Cassandra. Both characters returned in New Earth – with the former also claiming that he had a great secret, something that wouldn’t be revealed until Gridlock…
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#NewNewYork
For both episodes, two key people linked with the episode will be joining the discussion on Twitter. First, there’s the writer for both episodes, Russell T Davies. The former showrunner has joined in previous watchalongs for his era, including Rose and The Stolen Earth / Journey’s End, so we’re sure to learn a lot about the writing and making of these two episodes. And if that wasn’t enough, we can also look forward to a brand new sequel that Davies has written!
The other key person joining in the discussion is none other than Anna Hope, who played the Catkind nurse Novice Hame in both episodes. She later resumed the role in the box set Tales from New Earth from Big Finish. (It should also be noted that she’s also played recurring character DI Patricia Menzies in several Sixth Doctor audios, and rather brilliantly, too. We’re still hoping that she gets her own spin-off.)
Make sure to take part in the watchalong starting at 7 PM UK time, taking a break when New Earth finishes before starting Gridlock at 8 PM. You can watch both episodes on BBC iPlayer in the UK, or on streaming service HBO Max in the US. To join in the discussion on Twitter, use the hashtag #NewNewYork.
Next. Doctor Who and its spin-offs are now available to stream on HBO Max!. dark
Are you a fan of either of these two Tenth Doctor episodes? Which one do you prefer? What do you think Russell T Davies’s new sequel will be about? Let us know in the comments below.